Courses
AutumnAcademy
Technical Assistance in ESI Funds:
Best practices, Case studies and Advice
openregistration
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Description
From 26 to 28 April 2023 ESI Funds Academy organizes a workshop in Porto in the field of Technical Assistance. Participants will become acquainted with best practices when it comes to management and implementation of technical assistance in the current financial perspective 2014-2020 as well as major changes planned for the future financial perspective 2021-2027. The workshop aims at providing recommendations and practical tips when it comes to the best use of technical assistance money, among others in order to improve the capacity of institutions, financing services, staff and trainings.
The European Commission adopted a proposal for the next multi-annual financial framework for the period 2021-2027. The ambition is to modernise the cohesion policy and change it into a simple, flexible and dynamic policy supporting modern investments in all the EU regions. One of the proposed simplification concerns technical assistance. The European Commission would like to introduce a flat rate approach when it comes to settling technical assistance expenses with Member States. During the workshop we will analyse in details the European Commission proposal, looking at both: pros and cons.
However, regardless of the final outcome of ongoing negotiations, the simplified approach towards technical assistance has already been introduced in the current financial perspective 2014-2020. Experience suggested that the existing rules had been over-complex and had led to an unnecessary burden on programme managers and final beneficiaries. Therefore, at our workshop we will also have a look at the most interesting examples of the use of Simplified Cost Options (SCOs) in technical assistance projects.
Topics considered:
- Main principles governing technical assistance
- Eligibility Rules for Technical Assistance
- Simplified Management of Technical Assistance
- Eligibility of staff costs
- New rules for reimbursement of the technical assistance funds and services contracts management
- Technical assistance for Management Verifications
After completing the official program of the first day of the Spring Academy the ESIFA is inviting the participants on the Wedesday afternoon to a Get together dinner in a Restaurant in Porto.
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Programme
Wednesday 25 October 2023
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08.45
Registration and welcome coffee
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09.00
Welcome by the ESI Funds Academy & Introduction Round
Introduction Round using a Pecha Kucha Presentation by every participant. Each participant will prepare a standard Pecha Kucha Presentation (20 slides x 20 seconds), or a short version Pecha Kucha Presentation (10 slides x 20 seconds), and will bring it on USB, or will email it to the speaker after the Registration.
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09.20
The role of TA for the implementation of ESI Funds
- Technical Assistance at the initiative of the Member States;
- Main actors involved in management and control of technical assistance; Who can participate?
- Possibilities of absorption in Technical Assistance
- Which indicators exist? Role and implications at Programme level
+ Roundtable discussions: How to increase absorption rate at Programme level using Technical Assistance funds?
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10.40
Coffee Break
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11.20
Eligibility Rules for Technical Assistance
- Eligibility of TA expenditures;
- TA and public procurement procedures;
- Simplified Cost Options;
- What about publicity requirements?
+ Practical exercise: How to increase the visibility of EU funds using technical assistance?
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12.30
Lunch
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14.00
How to increase absorption rate at Programme level using Technical Assistance
Best practices, Case studies and Advice on how to increase absorption rate at Programme level using Technical Assistance funds and how to increase the visibility of ESI funds using technical assistance
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16.00
End of the official Programme Day One
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18.00
Walking Tour and a networking dinner in Lisbon
Walking Tour and a get-together dinner
After the completion of the first day of the Autumn Academy we are inviting the participants to a Walking Tour and a networking dinner in a restaurant in Lisbon
Our Guide will be an urban expert
Thursday 26 October 2023
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09.00
Simplified Management of Technical Assistance. Are you ready for the new challenges that simplifi-cation of TA brings?
- How to simplify the use of TA?
- Simplified Cost Options (SCOs) in TA;
- How to verify Simplified Cost Options
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10.30
Coffee break
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11.00
New rules for reimbursement of the technical assistance funds and eligibility of staff costs
- TA eligibility of staff costs: salaries and other staff costs
- SCOs for salaries and other staff costs
- Practical examples of SCO for salaries and staff costs from different EU countries of the cur-rent and future programming period
+ Exercise: SCOs verification
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12.30
Lunch
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14.00
New rules for reimbursement of the technical assistance funds and services contracts management
- Service contracts: preparation and implementation;
- Public procurement procedures for service contracts: dos and don’ts
- Practical examples of service contracts management using TA funds from different EU countries
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16.00
End of the official Program of Day 2
Friday 27 October 2023
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09.00
Technical Assistance for Improving Administrative Capacity of the management and control system
- The importance of trained staff, the golden resource of any management and control system;
- How to implement real personnel retention strategies;
- How to support beneficiaries and partners with TA money: also training, training, training… and what else?
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10.30
Coffee break
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11.00
Technical assistance for Management Verifications
- Making Management Verifications more effective;
- IT and monitoring systems – daily help in monitoring and evaluation
- Errors, Financial Corrections and Irregularities? Recoveries?
- Preparation for audits
- TA funds and fight against fraud and corruption; strengthening the role of the whistleblowers
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12.30
Lunch
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14.00
Workshop final session and discussions on planning your future tasks
Workshop final session and discussions on planning your future tasks related to the technical assistance
Game related to the better use of TA funds for administrative capacity building and personnel retention strategies, and how to build trust.
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15.00
End of the seminar
Handing out of the certificates
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Experts
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Venue
Mercure Porto Centro Santa Catarina
Praça da Batalha, 116
4049-028 PortoNext to the training materials the trainign fee is covering:
a) the Catering during the training (3 Coffee Breaks and a Lunch every day);
b) a Walking Tour in Porto in the evening of the First Day of the Training;
c) a get-together dinner in the evening of the First Day of the Training.
